His love has faded in me, I can’t live with a monster anymore, my body has scars all over as a result of his beatings”.

With these emotional words, Mrs. Modupe Olubayo urged an Orile -Agege Grade ‘B’ Customary Court, Lagos, to dissolve her four -year-old marriage to Dehinde Olubayo, a professional footballer, on the grounds of threat to life and frequent beating. Olubayo denied the allegations.

According to him, the wife wants to leave him after finishing his money. The 28-year-old woman, who lives at 33, Omidokun Street, Agbado, Lagos, told the court that her marriage to her husband was not peaceful. ”My husband doesn’t care for me and the children. He doesn’t give us money. Rather, he steals from the little I have”, she said.

”He is lazy and not ready to work. All he knows how to do is sleep, eat and derives pleasure in beating me. Olubayo talks anyhow to my mother and once fought her. Any time I ask for feeding allowance, he responds with slaps, and then beats me so hard.”

The applicant told the court that she had made up her mind to dissolve the marriage.

The mother of three asked the court for the custody of the children.

The 39-year-old man, of 17, Kelani Street, Orile-Agege, denied the allegations. “I am a professional footballer. I was in training for four months in Ghana when my wife threatened to kill herself if I did not come home”, Olubayo said. ”Because I love my wife, I terminated the contact I had with my club and came to Nigeria.

She told me that she didn’t want me to leave her for a night, so I looked for another job but couldn’t find. I spent all the money I had on her and when the money finished, she refused to assist me in providing for the family. She nags a lot, talks too much and she is materialistic. If she wants to leave me, no problem, life goes on”. Court President, Mr Joseph Adewusi, adjourned the case for further hearing.